Farewell 2011!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I hope you all have a wonderful (and safe) New year's Eve, whatever you are doing, and that 2012 is a totally awesome year. I have faith that it will be, despite ancient Mayan predictions that state otherwise. :D
This will be my last LJ post of 2011. So let's have a look back at what's happened, shall we?
2011: A Retrospective
This year has been quite a big year for me, on the quiet. In roughly chronological order, I ...
* discovered the joys of Derren Brown.
* turned twenty-two.
* went to my first ever arena concert (Glee Live) and saw Chris Colfer and Darren Criss perform.
* helped to edit and proof read our MA course anthology, The Draft, which is not only displayedon Amazon, but is now available for Kindle!
* had my work published in a real book - The Draft - and read my story from the book in front of an audience. (There is no cooler feeling on the planet).
* saw The Mousetrap, by Agatha Christie, in London and was sworn to secrecy about its ending.
* drove on the Motorway for the first time.
* drove a carfull of people on my first ever Road Trip (to Wales, with the awesome MA people).
* went to Canal Street for the first time (for Ice_Elf's birthday).
* finished my MA in Writing at the University of Warwick (though I only officially graduate in January).
* saw John Barrowman live (for the second time in just a year!).
* saw Phantom of the Opera for the first time through a live screening of the 25th Anniversary show at the Royal Albert Hall, which was incredible.
* learned how to make hand-made chocolates.
* won NaNoWriMo for the seventh year in a row, and (technically) finished the book in the process.
* returned to Durham for the Christmas Fair, and went to the Carols For All service in the Cathedral (which was beautiful).
* saw Comfort and Joy (a terribly funny play) at the Wigan Little Theatre with Mum and Dad.
* went to the Manchester Cathedral Lessons and Carols service with friends.
* made six Christmas Cakes.
* made batches of peppermint creams and coconut macaroons for the first time.
* spent Christmas at home, with my family, doing nothing at all.
Of course, bad things happened, too. My Nan died. One of my biggest regrets is not going to see her in hospital.
But it's a funny thing. My Nan taught my to sing 'Away In A Manger'. I don't remember learning it; I've just always known it. I think she taught it to me when I was two or three years old. I can still remember all the words. It remains one of my favourite carols of all time. Yet, at Christmas, you don't hear it very often - or at least, you don't in the circles I normally move in. I don't recall ever hearing it sung in a carol service.
This year, it feels a little bit like 'Away In A Manger' has been following me around throughout the season. It was sung by everyon at the Durham Cathedral service, and then again at our local church carol service (the first verse by the most adorable little girl).
Then, the other day, when we were making chocolates, peppermint creams and macaroons to give to people as presents, I put on a Christmas carol CD that we have. At one point, I was fighting with semi-melted chocolate and getting hugely frustrated because it wouldn't work and I was running out of time, and it was all going wrong -- and then I realised that 'Away In A Manger' had come on. I know how stupid this sounds, but that song made me feel better - as though my Nan was sending down a message that it would be OK, just carry on, it'll be fine. That song coming on at that moment got me through the ordeal of chocolate making (which was worth it for the yummies).
This is going to sound silly, too, but I'll say it anyway. I think that it's no coincidence that 'Away In A Manger' - a carol that, for me, is inextricably linked to my Nana - has been following me around this year. I like to think of it as a message; my Nan saying, "It's OK." And I like to think that singing it as loudly and joyfully as possible is my way of saying back, "I know. Thanks, Nana."
And now this is making me get all teary, so I'm going to stop.
This year has been brilliant in many, many ways, as that list (under the cut) above should indicate! It's been a blast. I just hope that 2012 is even better.
That said, I have failed a bit on my New Years Resolutions from 2011.
Resolution One: Read More
Of course, I was only counting books I actually wanted to read, not just course books. (I am sick and fed up of 'course reading', ugh.) Also, aside from the Harry Potters and Black Beauty, all of them had to be books I hadn't read before. I could substitute in other books, so long as I hadn't read them before. My goal was 12; there were 30 on the list I made:
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J K Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J K Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (J K Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J K Rowling)
I Shall Wear Midnight (Terry Pratchett)
The Jupiter Myth (Lindsey Davis)
The Accusers (Lindsey Davis
The Sign of the Four (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The Valley of Fear (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Inkheart (Cornelia Funke)
Inkspell (Cornelia Funke)
Inkdeath (Cornelia Funke)
Reckless (Cornelia Funke)
The Name of the Wind (Patrick Rothfuss)
Retromancer (Robert Rankin)
Accidental Sorcerer (Karen Miller)
Witches Incorporated (Karen Miller)
Innocent Mage (Karen Miller)
Awakened Mage (Karen Miller)
Wicked (Gragory Maguire)
Neverending Story (Michael Ende)
The Princess Bride (William Goldman)
The Magicians' Guild (Trudi Canavan)
The Novice (Trudi Canavan)
The High Lord (Trudi Canavan)
Nerd Do Well (Simon Pegg)
Black Beauty (Anna Sewell)
Alice In Wonderland (Lewis Caroll)
Through the Looking-Glass (Lewis Caroll)
As you can see, I didn't do spectacularly well. I did read these book, as well.
The Red Pyramid (Rick Riordan)
Time Riders (Alex Scarrow)
Time Riders: Day of the Predator (Alex Scarrow)
Time Riders: The Doomsday Code (Alex Scarrow)
Time Riders: The Eternal War (Alex Scarrow)
Wolfsangel (M. D. Lachlan)
That's a total of ... 10. Not great. Not absolutely terrible, but not great. I think this is going to be my resolution for next year, as well ...
Resolution Two: Finish What I've Started
I resolved to finish 12 of the WIP fics on my harddrive. There were many more than 12; I cherry-picked my favourites. Let's take a look at the list:
1 x Doctor Who (kink meme prompt)
1 x Glee
1 x Good Omens (50 Drabbles Challenge)
2 x Merlin
1 x Pirates of the Caribbean
3 x Sherlock (fic meme prompts)
2 x Star Trek (fic meme prompts)
1 x Torchwood (a Trip of Whom fic)
This one didn't go so well, either.
You'll have to trust me on the Doctor Who kink meme fic; I did post it, but I'm not quite ready to come clean and admit that I wrote it, so no link for you! (Maybe I'll re-post it here some time in 2012 ... when I'm feeling brave.)
I'm not sure which Glee fic I actually meant at this point in time, because I've forgotten and I don't have access to the folder on my laptop where I put the Resolution WIPs - but if I meant The Dalton Academy Ninja, then that was a success!
The three Sherlock fic meme prompts didn't get posted (or finished) - but The Long Game was actually WIP this time last year. So it totally counts. :P
I did post one of the Star Trek fic meme propts: Accidentally (warning: pregnant female!Chekov).
The others didn't get done. Oh, well. 4/12 is - well, is pretty terrible. I'll try to do better next year.
So, my New Year's Resolutions didn't fare very well over the past year.
But it's been a year full of writing. Full of friendship. Full of excellent television (including some of the bext Doctor Who we've ever had, in my opinion).
I'm worried about the future, because the economy is looking bleak and I don't have a full-time job (and the part-time one do I have is detestable). I'm worried about my (non-immediate) family.
But most of all - I'm excited. 2011 has been a wonderful, beautiful year, for all that it has been a painful one in some ways. 2012 is still in the future for a few hours yet, but when it breaks over us, it's a new start. A new beginning. And I'm looking forward to it.
I'm going downstairs now to be sociable and play board games with Mum and Dad and Dave. :D Have a good one, folks!
.
I hope you all have a wonderful (and safe) New year's Eve, whatever you are doing, and that 2012 is a totally awesome year. I have faith that it will be, despite ancient Mayan predictions that state otherwise. :D
This will be my last LJ post of 2011. So let's have a look back at what's happened, shall we?
2011: A Retrospective
This year has been quite a big year for me, on the quiet. In roughly chronological order, I ...
* discovered the joys of Derren Brown.
* turned twenty-two.
* went to my first ever arena concert (Glee Live) and saw Chris Colfer and Darren Criss perform.
* helped to edit and proof read our MA course anthology, The Draft, which is not only displayedon Amazon, but is now available for Kindle!
* had my work published in a real book - The Draft - and read my story from the book in front of an audience. (There is no cooler feeling on the planet).
* saw The Mousetrap, by Agatha Christie, in London and was sworn to secrecy about its ending.
* drove on the Motorway for the first time.
* drove a carfull of people on my first ever Road Trip (to Wales, with the awesome MA people).
* went to Canal Street for the first time (for Ice_Elf's birthday).
* finished my MA in Writing at the University of Warwick (though I only officially graduate in January).
* saw John Barrowman live (for the second time in just a year!).
* saw Phantom of the Opera for the first time through a live screening of the 25th Anniversary show at the Royal Albert Hall, which was incredible.
* learned how to make hand-made chocolates.
* won NaNoWriMo for the seventh year in a row, and (technically) finished the book in the process.
* returned to Durham for the Christmas Fair, and went to the Carols For All service in the Cathedral (which was beautiful).
* saw Comfort and Joy (a terribly funny play) at the Wigan Little Theatre with Mum and Dad.
* went to the Manchester Cathedral Lessons and Carols service with friends.
* made six Christmas Cakes.
* made batches of peppermint creams and coconut macaroons for the first time.
* spent Christmas at home, with my family, doing nothing at all.
Of course, bad things happened, too. My Nan died. One of my biggest regrets is not going to see her in hospital.
But it's a funny thing. My Nan taught my to sing 'Away In A Manger'. I don't remember learning it; I've just always known it. I think she taught it to me when I was two or three years old. I can still remember all the words. It remains one of my favourite carols of all time. Yet, at Christmas, you don't hear it very often - or at least, you don't in the circles I normally move in. I don't recall ever hearing it sung in a carol service.
This year, it feels a little bit like 'Away In A Manger' has been following me around throughout the season. It was sung by everyon at the Durham Cathedral service, and then again at our local church carol service (the first verse by the most adorable little girl).
Then, the other day, when we were making chocolates, peppermint creams and macaroons to give to people as presents, I put on a Christmas carol CD that we have. At one point, I was fighting with semi-melted chocolate and getting hugely frustrated because it wouldn't work and I was running out of time, and it was all going wrong -- and then I realised that 'Away In A Manger' had come on. I know how stupid this sounds, but that song made me feel better - as though my Nan was sending down a message that it would be OK, just carry on, it'll be fine. That song coming on at that moment got me through the ordeal of chocolate making (which was worth it for the yummies).
This is going to sound silly, too, but I'll say it anyway. I think that it's no coincidence that 'Away In A Manger' - a carol that, for me, is inextricably linked to my Nana - has been following me around this year. I like to think of it as a message; my Nan saying, "It's OK." And I like to think that singing it as loudly and joyfully as possible is my way of saying back, "I know. Thanks, Nana."
And now this is making me get all teary, so I'm going to stop.
This year has been brilliant in many, many ways, as that list (under the cut) above should indicate! It's been a blast. I just hope that 2012 is even better.
That said, I have failed a bit on my New Years Resolutions from 2011.
Resolution One: Read More
Of course, I was only counting books I actually wanted to read, not just course books. (I am sick and fed up of 'course reading', ugh.) Also, aside from the Harry Potters and Black Beauty, all of them had to be books I hadn't read before. I could substitute in other books, so long as I hadn't read them before. My goal was 12; there were 30 on the list I made:
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J K Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J K Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (J K Rowling)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J K Rowling)
I Shall Wear Midnight (Terry Pratchett)
The Jupiter Myth (Lindsey Davis)
The Accusers (Lindsey Davis
The Sign of the Four (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The Valley of Fear (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Inkheart (Cornelia Funke)
Inkspell (Cornelia Funke)
Inkdeath (Cornelia Funke)
Reckless (Cornelia Funke)
The Name of the Wind (Patrick Rothfuss)
Retromancer (Robert Rankin)
Accidental Sorcerer (Karen Miller)
Witches Incorporated (Karen Miller)
Innocent Mage (Karen Miller)
Awakened Mage (Karen Miller)
Wicked (Gragory Maguire)
Neverending Story (Michael Ende)
The Princess Bride (William Goldman)
The Magicians' Guild (Trudi Canavan)
The Novice (Trudi Canavan)
The High Lord (Trudi Canavan)
Nerd Do Well (Simon Pegg)
Black Beauty (Anna Sewell)
Alice In Wonderland (Lewis Caroll)
Through the Looking-Glass (Lewis Caroll)
As you can see, I didn't do spectacularly well. I did read these book, as well.
The Red Pyramid (Rick Riordan)
Time Riders (Alex Scarrow)
Time Riders: Day of the Predator (Alex Scarrow)
Time Riders: The Doomsday Code (Alex Scarrow)
Time Riders: The Eternal War (Alex Scarrow)
Wolfsangel (M. D. Lachlan)
That's a total of ... 10. Not great. Not absolutely terrible, but not great. I think this is going to be my resolution for next year, as well ...
Resolution Two: Finish What I've Started
I resolved to finish 12 of the WIP fics on my harddrive. There were many more than 12; I cherry-picked my favourites. Let's take a look at the list:
1 x Doctor Who (kink meme prompt)
1 x Glee
1 x Good Omens (50 Drabbles Challenge)
2 x Merlin
1 x Pirates of the Caribbean
3 x Sherlock (fic meme prompts)
2 x Star Trek (fic meme prompts)
1 x Torchwood (a Trip of Whom fic)
This one didn't go so well, either.
You'll have to trust me on the Doctor Who kink meme fic; I did post it, but I'm not quite ready to come clean and admit that I wrote it, so no link for you! (Maybe I'll re-post it here some time in 2012 ... when I'm feeling brave.)
I'm not sure which Glee fic I actually meant at this point in time, because I've forgotten and I don't have access to the folder on my laptop where I put the Resolution WIPs - but if I meant The Dalton Academy Ninja, then that was a success!
The three Sherlock fic meme prompts didn't get posted (or finished) - but The Long Game was actually WIP this time last year. So it totally counts. :P
I did post one of the Star Trek fic meme propts: Accidentally (warning: pregnant female!Chekov).
The others didn't get done. Oh, well. 4/12 is - well, is pretty terrible. I'll try to do better next year.
So, my New Year's Resolutions didn't fare very well over the past year.
But it's been a year full of writing. Full of friendship. Full of excellent television (including some of the bext Doctor Who we've ever had, in my opinion).
I'm worried about the future, because the economy is looking bleak and I don't have a full-time job (and the part-time one do I have is detestable). I'm worried about my (non-immediate) family.
But most of all - I'm excited. 2011 has been a wonderful, beautiful year, for all that it has been a painful one in some ways. 2012 is still in the future for a few hours yet, but when it breaks over us, it's a new start. A new beginning. And I'm looking forward to it.
I'm going downstairs now to be sociable and play board games with Mum and Dad and Dave. :D Have a good one, folks!
.